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| he as 8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, March 19, 1985 Feel-Good-Lab spends all its time ironing out other people's kinks The physiotherapy department at Port Perry's Community Memorial Hospital sees more neck and back injuries than anything else, most of them as a result of car accidents, aging, poor health habits, and occupational hazards. One of the most common treatments for those injuries is ultrasound, which physiotherapist Tina Demmers demonstrates (above). Seven year old Diana Brown just came by the physiotherapy department to be with her dad (who was receiving treatment) but she had some time to have a close look at Stiff joints? Sore back? Swollen ankles? Tennis elbow? If you've got 'em, you might want to check out the friendly neighbour- hood physiotherapy de- partment at Community Memorial Hospital, which just happens to be celebrating Physio- therapy Week through- out the Township. For those who can't say or spell physiother- apy, the Feel-Good-Lab is a pretty accurate nickname for a place that spends all its time ironing out other people's kinks. All patients stepping through its doors in the new Matthew B. Dy- mond Wing do so on their physician's advice so if you think you've got a problem, it's best to check with your doctor first. But once your doc gives you the okay, you can look forward to hav- ing the latest physio- therapy techniques ap- plied to your particular problem. It may be a small department, but it manages to contain a whirlpool, an ultra-sound machine, an exercise bicycle and all manners of "'medalities" -- equip- ment built for rebuilding humans. DO YOU SLUMP? If you ankle is sprain- ed, for example, Physio- therapist Tina Demmers might use the ultra- sound, or she might app- ly a heat and ice treat- ment. If you suffer from arthritis, she might coat your feet with warm wax, which soaks your sore joints with lots of heat, relieving pain and stiffness. And if slump- ing is your problem, the Sam, the depart. ant's resident skeleton, who has knee problems. Assistant Joyce Gib- son gives her a hand. department even has a full-length mirror so you can practise your posture. Tina says the most common problem she sees relate to necks and backs, often due to car accidents, aging, poor health habits, inherent problems or occupa- tional hazards. Next to that, she finds herself treating a lot of shoulders (falls, ten- donitis, bursitis, sports injuries), as well as knees and problems con- nected with neurological, respiratory, weight and fitness. And while Tina and her assistants do their best to heal patients, make them comfortable and teach them healthy habits, it's up to the pa- tient to take their infor- mation home and apply it to their day-to-day life ---- not just relying on an occasional trip to physiotherapy and then resuming their poor lif- ting habits (or whatever) when they go home. "For example, we'll teach them exercises but because of the size of the department, we send them home to practise," Tina says. 'It's amazing the results people get when they take on the responsibility of their own healing. It's in their best interests. It's a 24 hour job, sort of thing." VOLUNTEERS HELP Most patients visit the department only two or three times to get back on the track, but some can visit for as long as six months or more, depending on their pro- blem. Tina's day is divid- ed into two parts: the morning, when she sees out-patients, and the afternoon, when she treats patients from within the hospital. It's even her job to teach hospital staff how to pre- vent injuries, such as the proper way to lift pa- tients without straining their own backs. Luckily, Tina doesn't doit all on her own. She's got Joyce Gibson, the physio-clerk-aid, who. handles the desk and helps out with patients whenever Tina needs a hand. And then there's the volunteers "who I couldn't live without," Tina admits. She's even got a skeleton named Sam, who helps her show peo- ple what their problem is, where it is, and how it can be improved. "Our final aim is to make life as normal as possible within the con- straints of the physical problem,' she says. "Whereas years ago maybe a person would be considered a lost cause because of a stroke, now with physiotherapy, they can come back to a func- tional level." Not surprisingly, it gets pretty hectic in the physio department. There's been days when Tina and her team have seen 40 or more patients, 'and, at the moment, the waiting list is six weeks long. But six weeks or no six weeks, one splash in that whirlpool and it's all worthwhile. unknown. unknown. smouldering ruins. undetermined. Fire calls TOWNSHIP OF SCUGOG FIRE DEPARTMENT STATION No.1 Tuesday, March 5- 10:16 a.m.; False alarm when pagers activated. Cause of alarm Tuesday, March 12 - 4:43 a.m.; House fire at Lot 14, Concession 6 on Highway No.12. Estimated loss from fire $50,000, with cause Tuesday, March 12 - 2:15 p.m. ; Called back to house fire on Highway No.12 to extinquish Tuesday, March 12 - 3:00 p.m.; Barn fire at Lot 9, Concession 5 on Highway 7A near Blackstock. Mutual Aid call from Scugog Fire Department Station No.2. Cause of fire Physiotherapist Tina Demmers applies a little manual therapy to a woman who broke her arm and recently had her cast removed.